Wicketless session keeps South Africa waiting

Lunch Sri Lanka 220 for 4 (Samaraweera 64*, Mathews 58*) and 239 trail South Africa 580 for 4 decl. by 121 runs

Sri Lanka's batsmen enjoyed their first wicketless session of the series, but with five more to go in the Test, it was unlikely to affect the final outcome. Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews survived without much strife on the fourth morning, giving credence to curator Evan Flint's tongue-in-cheek prediction about the state of the pitch. Sri Lanka's tame surrender in the first innings, however, meant the odds of them saving the Test remained long.

As on the third evening, South Africa were persistent with their lines of attack, but the rewards were not so readily available. The closest they came to dislodging the overnight partners was when Samaraweera was stranded mid-pitch after a misunderstanding with Mathews. Alviro Petersen picked up rapidly in the covers and had a good sight of the stumps as he threw, but missed. A little later, Mathews came close to being run out himself, but this time Hashim Amla's throw went wide. Barring those two scares, it was mostly smooth sailing for Sri Lanka.

As is his wont, Dale Steyn began the day by probing away at pace on full lengths, but the rest of the attack was guilty of bowling a touch short, and too straight. Samaraweera got going with a neat flick through square leg off the day's second ball, and a couple of controlled edges through the off side. Thereafter, he settled down to wait and pick off the leg-stump offerings that came his way. Imran Tahir showed good control and hurried the batsmen with bounce and spin out of the rough on a few occasions, but wasn't able to make the breach. Samaraweera got to his fifty by steering him to third man as the first hour drew to a close.

Mathews' reluctance to leave balls outside off stump will always leave him vulnerable to nicks, but today he was mostly efficient in covering the line. His first boundary came off a thick edge that flew past the cordon, but he gradually buckled down to seal his end. Progress came through dabs and tucks, until Tahir slipped up a full toss on the pads that Mathews whipped expertly to the boundary.

With the pitch slowing down and seam movement absent, Graeme Smith moved the cordon from behind the wicket to front. Armed with the old ball, Jacques Kallis sent down an energetic spell of fast bumpers, with slip, short leg, short cover, silly mid-on, and later leg slip, in place. Samaraweera stayed firm, pressing down a snorter headed to his ribs away from the reach of all the prowlers. Smith summoned the new ball for the last over of the session, and Vernon Philander duly elicited Mathews outside edge with his customary swing. It was a timely warning that Sri Lanka couldn't afford to get too carried away with their morning's work.

Hilfenhaus takes five in Australia's innings win

Australia 4 for 659 dec beat India 191 and 400 (Gambhir 83, Tendulkar 80, Laxman 66, Ashwin 62, Hilfenhaus 5-106) by an innings and 68 runs

This was supposed to be India's best chance to win a Test series in Australia. It has taken only eight days of cricket for Michael Clarke's men to deny them that goal. On the fourth afternoon in Sydney, an attack led by Ben Hilfenhaus deconstructed India's formidable batting line-up, bit by bit, to secure an unbeatable 2-0 series lead with victory by an innings and 68 runs, Australia's first innings win over India in 12 years.

The last such result also came at the SCG, in 2000. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were all part of that side, as they were members of the outfit that lost this time around. It is unlikely they will have another chance to beat Australia at home. For now, India still hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and should they win in Perth and Adelaide they will retain it. But their grip on it is as weak as Chris Martin's forward defence.

This was an Australian victory that will be remembered for Clarke's unbeaten 329. But on the fourth day, it was a second consecutive five-wicket haul from Hilfenhaus that was the highlight. Hilfenhaus completed the success with the final wicket when R Ashwin, who had made a fighting 62, skied a pull and was caught by Nathan Lyon running around from mid-on.

The Australians were overjoyed. Clarke especially was thrilled. His declaration on the third day, when he could have chased personal milestones like Brian Lara's world-record Test innings of 400, was designed to ensure Australia would win the match. They did so with three and a half sessions remaining. Clarke is not the kind of man to harbour any regrets. The win was everything.

He knew better than anyone that batting on the SCG surface was not particularly difficult, and as Tendulkar and Laxman put on a 103-run stand his mind might have flicked back eight years, to a 353-run partnershipbetween the same men at the same ground. Fittingly, it was Clarke with his left-arm spin that ended the partnership, and India's hopes of saving the Test.

Tendulkar had reached 80 and seemed to be on track to register his long-awaited hundredth international hundred in the SCG's hundredth Test when Clarke changed the course of the day. He produced a delivery that was accurate enough to draw Tendulkar into a stroke and turned just enough to catch the edge, which ricocheted off Brad Haddin's gloves and was snaffled by Michael Hussey at slip.

When the new ball arrived, the other architect of that one threatening partnership, Laxman, on 66, fell to a near-perfect delivery from Hilfenhaus, who finished with 5 for 106. The ball angled in and then nipped away to beat the outside edge of Laxman's bat, clipping the edge of the top of off stump, and the batsman could scarcely believe his fate, confident as he appeared that he had covered his wicket.

From there, the wickets fell steadily. MS Dhoni (2) chipped a return catch to Hilfenhaus, who seemed to think it was a bump ball. But the umpire's decision to have the third official check on the shot revealed it had lobbed cleanly back to Hilfenhaus without touching the ground, surprising some of the Australians.

Virat Kohli was lbw to James Pattinson for 9, a fraction unlucky as the ball kept low, but there was no question over the decision. Peter Siddle joined in by removing Zaheer Khan, who had made an entertaining 35 when he slashed hard at a delivery outside off and was taken by Shaun Marsh running back from extra cover.

Briefly, Ishant Sharma and Ashwin staved off the Australians with a 42-run stand, but Ishant (11) was lbw to the offspin of Nathan Lyon. That was the only breakthrough of the match for Lyon, who also collected just one in Melbourne and has not removed a top-six batsman since the first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at the Gabba. Though usually loath to change a winning side, Australia might consider replacing him with Ryan Harris at the WACA.

There are far more questions for India. For a while it looked like they might take the match into the fifth day as they worked through the first session for the loss of only one wicket, that of Gautam Gambhir. He missed the chance for his first Test century in nearly two years when, on 83, he stood on the crease and reached his bat a long way forward to the bowling of Siddle, who found a leading edge that was snapped up by David Warner at point.

Tendulkar and Laxman continued to fight. Laxman played some of his trademark wristy flicks through the leg side, against the fast men and also the offspin of Lyon, and Tendulkar showed off some wonderful cover-drives early in the morning. Shortly before the lunch break, Tendulkar upper-cut a frustrated Pattinson over the sole slip for another boundary.

But it was all a big tease for the Indian fans. In a match where three Australians made tons, including one triple-hundred, India needed more than a handful of pretty half-centuries. There are questions over their batting and their bowling as the Perth Test approaches. They have a week to sort out their problems.